Mark Kieser, Principal and Senior Scientist at Kieser & Associates, LLC, was an invited speaker at the 2019 Expo Agua Perú. The Expo Agua Perú is the premiere water technology fair in Peru, where leading companies present integral solutions for the water, sanitation, agriculture, industry, mining and energy production sectors. At this annual event, leading national and international experts discuss the state of the art in terms of technologies and trends relevant to the integrated management of water resources. Now in its fifth year, the Expo Agua Perú brings together authorities and government officials, businesses, academia and specialized professionals.
Mr. Kieser presented on market approaches for stabilizing water supply in a presentation titled The Issue of Scale: Can Market-like Approaches Drive Water Supply Improvements? Provision of clean and abundant water supplies is a global challenge. Hard or “Grey” infrastructure for water capture, retention, purification and distribution is costly and often does not address sustainability of supply. Emerging opportunities focusing on more natural solutions, or Green infrastructure, are receiving much broader attention to address critical needs for both sustainability and resilience of water supply. These critical considerations may drive broader and more diversified investment interests in the provision side of the supply and demand equation. Mr. Kieser’s presentation examined the potential for market economics to drive diversified investments in Green infrastructure for enhancing water supplies at scale. Investments require program infrastructure underpinned by sound science, transparency and accountability. How such market elements can help advance sustainability and resilience of supply was discussed in the context of water investments in the U.S., Peru and China.